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gotnoculture's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Isherwood’s excellent prose provides an intimate portrait of an aging gay man coping with the sudden loss of his young partner, the slow deterioration of his own aging body, and the suburbanization of his once raucous and bacchanalian neighborhood.
George is a simultaneously relatable and repugnant character. It is difficult to parse whether his racist and misogynistic biases are the fault of his author’s own prejudices, or simply the product of his time. Either way, his misogynistic and racial asides often took me out of the narrative, and left me frustrated. To see a character so driven by his own countercultural identities and experiences be completely blind to his hegemonic and reductive opinions of minorities is annoying to say the least. But, you get what you pay for when you read a book from the 60s.
The greatest strength of this book, despite its ideological faults, was the author and George’s intense affection for other men and for the virtues of youth and virility. Unfortunately often contrasted by derision of women, Isherwood’s fascination with masculine beauty and male sexuality makes his work come alive with tactility and wonder. This book read as a love letter to gayness, to unabashed sexuality, to masculine passion. The novel faces death, aging, and grief in fullness and urges the reader to enjoy life despite, and often because of, the inevitability of death.
George is a simultaneously relatable and repugnant character. It is difficult to parse whether his racist and misogynistic biases are the fault of his author’s own prejudices, or simply the product of his time. Either way, his misogynistic and racial asides often took me out of the narrative, and left me frustrated. To see a character so driven by his own countercultural identities and experiences be completely blind to his hegemonic and reductive opinions of minorities is annoying to say the least. But, you get what you pay for when you read a book from the 60s.
The greatest strength of this book, despite its ideological faults, was the author and George’s intense affection for other men and for the virtues of youth and virility. Unfortunately often contrasted by derision of women, Isherwood’s fascination with masculine beauty and male sexuality makes his work come alive with tactility and wonder. This book read as a love letter to gayness, to unabashed sexuality, to masculine passion. The novel faces death, aging, and grief in fullness and urges the reader to enjoy life despite, and often because of, the inevitability of death.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Racism, Car accident, Alcohol, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Death, and Medical content
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, and War
mme_carton's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Racial slurs, Alcohol, Infidelity, Car accident, Death, Grief, Medical content, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: War and Drug use
elzmri's review
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Absolutely loved this book, got me out of a reading slump. I only knocked 0.25 off because I found the ending was abrupt and it was sometimes hard following along. Isherwood is now one of my fave authors.
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcohol, Death, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Sexual content, and Homophobia
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